Singh Claims That Rail Back-to-Work Legislation Would Violate Agreement with Liberals

August 22, 2024 TruthUSA

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh stated that he would not support the federal government enacting back-to-work legislation to resolve the railway strike, even if it were a confidence vote that could break the party’s supply and confidence agreement with the Liberals over the issue.

“If it’s a confidence vote, that’s breaking the agreement. We always have the right to withdraw our support from the agreement, and that remains our position. We can always pull away. We can always break it,” Singh told reporters on Aug. 22.

Singh’s remarks came shortly before the federal government announced its decision to intervene in the railway labour dispute to mandate arbitration. Federal Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon invoked Section 107 of the Labour Code to direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board to enforce final binding arbitration.

In a statement on Aug. 22, Singh criticized the federal government’s involvement in the labour dispute as “anti-worker,” denouncing it as sending a negative message.

“Justin Trudeau has just sent a message to CN, CPKC and all big corporations—being a bad boss pays off,” he said.

In the lead-up to the negotiation deadline, the Liberal government expressed its preference for a mutually agreed resolution between the two parties. “Millions of Canadian workers, farmers, and businesses right across the country are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated on Aug. 21.

During a press briefing on Aug. 22, Minister MacKinnon emphasized that the government had to intervene due to the significant impact of the shutdown on millions of Canadians.

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